This invention relates to motor vehicles and in particular to a motor vehicle plastic body panel.
It is known to use a plastic body panel for a motor vehicle having a glass window pane fitted in a frame and provided with a seal between the window pane and the body panel to prevent water ingress. Such an arrangement has the disadvantage that the weight of the glass is considerable and so the weight of the assembled glass window pane and plastic body panel is higher than is desirable. In addition, it is both time consuming and expensive to provide a seal between the plastic body panel and the glass window pane and such seals are prone to deterioration with consequent risk of leakage.
There is an increasing need to reduce the weight of a motor vehicle as this will result in reduced fuel consumption.
Therefore the use of plastic for the fixed windows of a motor vehicle is desirable and advantageous as it offers the prospect of a considerable weight saving.